Vegan Tech: Sites That Save + Apps We Love

We’ve hand-selected these sites and apps that make being vegan (and awesome) a snap.

From websites that give you the scoop on new vegan products and deals, to apps that help you figure out what to make for dinner, to technologies that will give your body and your happiness (say what?!) a workout, these are a few of our favorite tools that make being a compassionate person on-the-go easier than ever.

Oh, and we’re cluing you in to some FANTASTIC FREEBIES, so read on.

Sites that Save You Dough

Are you the type who loves to be the first to know about hot vegan products? Or, do you want a free resource that will help you to find the best cruelty-free shampoo? I want all of those things, and I want to save some dough in the process. Here are our favorite sites for staying current and saving money.

For Cool Deals on Hot Products:

It’s tough to beat Vegan Cuts when you’re looking for the hottest and hippest vegan goods out there. Want to sample the best of vegan food or beauty? Try their Snack Box or Beauty Box (both a total steal and the best gifts ever at $19.95 each). In addition to giving you the skinny on the next big things in the veg world, Vegan Cuts also lives up to its name by offering excellent discounts and freebies, like…

While not exclusively vegan, Pure Citizen and Ethical Ocean boast great deals on eco-friendly products, and give you the ability to filter for vegan, ethically-produced, and environmentally friendly items.

Want an Amazon.com of animal-friendly goodness? Check out forAnima, a marketplaces just bustin’ at the seams with gorgeous eco-chic and vegan products, including covetable deals of the day and an interactive ‘be the buyer’ option, which allows you to help designers decide which products to make.

If you’re hungry for more, GatherGreen is like a Groupon for vegans, where daily deals on items like compost bins and tickets to veg events are the norm.

For Coupons + Giveaways:

Every one loves a good giveaway or freebie, but with the universe of awesome vegan blogs out there, it can be difficult to keep track of who’s giving away what. Enter Vegan Perks, the straightforward site that connects you to the latest vegan and cruelty-free contests, giveaways, and freebies. And if you’re a blogger or merchant who is doing a giveaway, let Vegan Perks know!

We’ve all got a little fanny pack-wearing Extreme Couponer in us, just waiting to come out. Vegan Coupons understands this and wants to help you save. Follow them on Facebook or subscribe to their newsletter to get coupons that are actually relevant to vegan peeps (unlike other couponing sites that will only give you discounts on spiral cut ham and cheese. Boo.)

Say you like the whole couponing thing and you want to take your vegan coupling prowess to higher levels, Cheap Vegan Chick has a site chock full of tips for where and how to save money on animal-friendly food and other goodies.

Sites that Keep You Healthy

For Fitness + Health:

The internet is full of sites that can help you get fit, but we’ve never seen anything like Gymagogo, which lets you attend a live fitness class from your computer. And don’t worry about feeling silly – only the instructor can see you, so you can focus on enjoying the class. This is the perfect approach for those of us who sign up for classes in earnest and then find ourselves unmotivated to leave the house 10 minutes before (i.e. me). Classes range from pilates to yoga to strength training, and boast some serious heavy hitters in the fitness realm.

Give your well-being a workout! It’s not often that we take a moment to reflect on what we’re thankful for, but practicing gratefulness is key to our mental and emotional well-being. Enter Happify, a site and app that employ the powers of positive psychology disguised as games to give you tools for increased happiness. Sound too good to be true? Check out a free trial for yourself.

If you’re concerned about toxins in your beauty regimen, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has an Index to determine what companies are making more responsible items (Not-so-fun fact: Did you know the average woman puts over 500 chemicals on her body daily? SCARY).

Homemade cleaners are all the rage because they are effective, economical, and safer for your health, the environment, and animals. EarthEasy has a comprehensive guide to making your own healthy alternatives to pretty much every conventional cleaner out there.

On-the-Go and In-the-Know

These days, we’re all glued to our smart phones and tablets. And while there are many apps out there that can occupy your time (Candy Crush Saga, anyone? Agh.), these apps and loyalty programs actually make your life better and make being vegan – even on-the-go – seamless and simple.

For Travel:

Whether you’re a globetrotter or a homebody, everyone can appreciate a good diner’s loyalty program (Remember those Diner’s Club Card commercials? You too can feel that cool again). The VegDining Card offers discounts at vegetarian restaurants around the world. And the more you use it, the more points you earn toward goodies like vegan beauty and food products.

If you’re looking for vegan restaurants or stores while out and about, you can’t beat HappyCow, but I also love VeganXpress, which gives you vegan options (including booze) at some of the biggest fast food and restaurant chains in the US. Did you know that there are tasty vegan options at Taco Bell, PF Changs, and Pizzeria Uno? Road trippers rejoice!

If you’re the type who likes word-of-mouth, then you’ll love Vegan Food Is Everywhere, a crowd-sourced vegan food-spotting web app that focuses on individual vegan dishes at all restaurants worldwide, with the goal of getting every vegan dish in the world on the map. Members (it’s free) upload pics of what they ate, how they ordered it to make it vegan, and their review. Pretty nifty, especially if you’re traveling somewhere exotic and want to get the skinny on vegan eats from someone who’s already been there, done that.

If you need to double-check whether that mystery ingredient is vegan, try Animal-Free, an iPhone app, which provides a directory of animal ingredients and vegan-safe products, and also lets you scan product barcodes to see if they’re vegan-friendly.

Say you find yourself in Denver, and you really want to check out the yoga scene and take a class. I love Lululemon’s free Om Finder. You can find yoga wherever you are, explore a studio, and book a class, all from the app.

For Whipping up Meals in a Flash:

On those evenings when you’re stressed and ready to order takeout, reach for these apps. Vegan Delish has repeatedly topped the App Store charts for recipe applications, and is the brain child of the lovely Carrie of Carrie on Vegan. With over 100 healthy recipes, special categories like kid-friendly and oil free, and a shareable grocery list feature, this app has everything you need to whip up a quick and nourishing meal in no time. Go Vegan! is an app by uber cool chef, Sarah Kramer, that features step-by-step instructions on how to make over 50 of her famous recipes. It’s bright, cheery, and makes an awesome gift for a newbie vegan who is interested in brushing up on his/her kitchen skills.

For those of us who are guilty of not finishing the food in our fridges, there’s the Love Food Hate Waste app for Android. While not exclusively vegan, this app allows you to discover recipes that utilize ingredients you already have at home.